The incalculable influence of Alexander von Humboldt (1769 1859) on biology, botany, geology, and meteorology deservedly earned him the reputation as the world's most illustrious scientist before Charles Darwin. From 1799 to 1804, Humboldt's breath-taking explorations of Mexico and South America are akin to Europe's second discovery of the New World--this time, a scientific one. His Political Essay on the Kingdom of New Spain is a foundational document about Mexico and its cultures and is still widely consulted by anthropologists, geographers, and historians. In Humboldt's Mexico Myron Echenberg presents a straightforward guide with historical and cultural context to Humboldt's travels in Mexico. Humboldt packed a lifetime of scientific studies into one daunting year, and soon after published a four-volume account of his findings. His adventures range widely from inspections of colonial silver mines, hikes to the summits of volcanoes, meticulous examination of secret Spanish colonial archives in Mexico City, and scientific discussions of archaeological sites of pre-Hispanic Indigenous cultures. Echenberg traces Humboldt's journey, as described in his publications, his diary, and other writings, across the heartland of Mexico, while also pursuing Humboldt's life, his science, his experiences, his influence on scholars of his time and after, and the various efforts by others to honour and at times to denigrate his legacy. Part history, part travelogue, and always highly readable and informative, Humboldt's Mexico is an engaging account of a gifted scientist and visionary that ranges across topics as diverse and broad as the Romantic-era natural history.--$cProvided by publisher.
Authors
- Bibliography, etc. Note
- Includes bibliographical references and index
- Control Number Identifier
- CaOOCEL
- Date published
- 2017.
- Description conventions
- rda
- Dewey Decimal Classification Number
- 509.2
- Dewey Decimal Edition Number
- 23
- Distributor
- Canadian Electronic Library (Firm),
- General Note
- Issued as part of the desLibris books collection
- Geographic Area Code
- n-mx---
- ISBN
- 9780773549418 9780773549401
- LCCN
- Q143.H9
- LCCN Item number
- E35 2017eb
- Modifying agency
- CaBNVSL
- Original cataloging agency
- CaOONL
- Physical Description | Extent
- 1 electronic text (i, 236 pages)
- Published in
- Ottawa, Ontario
- Publisher or Distributor Number
- CaOOCEL
- Rights
- Access restricted to authorized users and institutions
- System Control Number
- (CaBNVSL)kck00237769 (OCoLC)971267490 (CaOOCEL)452406
- System Details Note
- Mode of access: World Wide Web
- Transcribing agency
- CaOONL
Table of Contents
- Cover 1
- Contents 6
- Illustration Sources and Abbreviations 8
- Figures, Map, and Tables 10
- Chronology and Map of Humboldt’s Itinerary in New Spain, 1803–1804 12
- Mesoamerican Chronology 14
- Preface 16
- Acknowledgments 20
- Introduction: Humboldt’s Achievements 22
- Prologue: Humboldt’s Mexican Adventure in Historical Context 34
- PART ONE: Arrival in Mexico, 23 March to 12 April 1803: From Acapulco to Mexico City 54
- 1 Acapulco: The Place of Broken Reeds 56
- 2 Diego Rivera’s Imagery 64
- 3 Chilpancingo and Guerrero State: A Gruelling Climb through the Rugged Sierra Madre del Sur Mountain Range 72
- 4 Humboldt and Colonial Governance in New Spain 78
- 5 Taxco: The Baroque Legacy of the First Great Colonial Silver Mine 87
- 6 William Spratling and Silver Jewellery Design in Taxco 92
- 7 Cuernavaca: A Brief Stay in the Valley of Eternal Spring 106
- 8 Ecological and Economic History in the Mexican Tableland Valleys of Anáhuac (Toluca, Mexico, and Puebla) 114
- 9 Mexico City: Humboldt’s Stay in the City of Palaces 127
- 10 Culture and Higher Learning in Humboldt’s Mexico 137
- PART TWO: Visits to the Mexican Heartland, 14 May to 10 October 1803: Silver Mines and Active Volcanoes 160
- 11 Pachuca, Land of Mines, and Mining Haciendas 162
- 12 Cornishmen and Women Settle in the Pachuca Region 170
- 13 Guanajuato: An Exhausting Month at New Spain’s Richest Silver Mine 177
- 14 Humboldt the Mining Inspector and Mexican Silver Mining 184
- 15 Morelia (Colonial Valladolid): Colonial Crafts and the Ascent of a Live Volcano 196
- 16 The Principal Volcanoes of the Mexican Highlands 203
- PART THREE: Homeward Bound, 30 January to 7 March 1804: Demography, Disease, and Departure from Veracruz 216
- 17 Puebla: Churches, Libraries, and Beautiful Pottery 218
- 18 Humboldt to the Fore Again: Water Issues and Mexican Demographic History 225
- 19 Xalapa: A Brief Stay in the City of Flowers 230
- 20 The Ruins of Zempoala in the Gulf Lowlands 235
- 21 Veracruz: Journey’s End 243
- 22 The Impact of Smallpox and Yellow Fever on Mexico 251
- Conclusion: Humboldt’s Legacy 259
- A Guide to Publications by or about Alexander von Humboldt in Mexico 270
- A Guide to Readings on Humboldt 274
- Citations 276
- Bibliography 280
- Index 288
- A 288
- B 288
- C 289
- D 290
- E 290
- F 290
- G 290
- H 291
- I 291
- J 292
- K 292
- L 292
- M 292
- N 293
- O 293
- P 293
- Q 294
- R 294
- S 295
- T 296
- U 296
- V 296
- W 296
- X 296
- Y 297
- Z 297
